When you think of Mercedes-Benz, you think of a company that makes high-end luxury vehicles. But with those vehicles come a lot of high-tech hardware and gadgets and the engineers there are working with Google Glass to add more conveniences.
In an interview with the Silicon Valley Business Journal, the President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America, stated that the company's ultimate goal with Google Glass is to create a seemless door-to-door transition involving both in-car navigation and pedestrian walking directions.
The goal is to allow a person to set a destination at home, hop in their car and drive to that destination and then be able to get the remaining walking instructions on their Google Glass. The Google Glass would have to be able to integrate with the vehicles navigation system to get current location, but would eliminate the need for entering information into multiple devices when both walking and driving destinations were required.
The project is still in the works, and they estimate it will be awhile before it hits the market as the cost of Glass is still a factor and most consumers cannot get their hands on one.
Don't look now, but Walmart may have just sold out temporarily of Microsoft's recently discounted Surface RT devices.
Yes, those same Surface RTs that Microsoft repriced and are now $350 (plus $100-plus for a keyboard/cover). The Surface RTs that were responsible for Microsoft's $900 million write-down which it took in Q4 FY 2013.
Robert McLaws, Chief Technology of AdvancedREI, tweeted me about what looks to be an "out of stock" situation for 32 GB and 64 GB Surface RTs purchased from Walmart online. Some U.S. stores are still showing availability in-store, however, of one or both Surface RT models.
On its Web site, Walmart is advising customers that they may not have their Surface RT orders filled in stores for another week or so.
Does Walmart's Surface RT stock status prove $350 was the magic price point at which Microsoft initially should have used as its Surface RT entry point a year ago in October, instead of going with $500? Maybe...
It also could be the case that after Microsoft's various Surface discounts -- at its own and others' recent shows and conferences -- more people have had a chance to kick the tires of Surface RT devices. Microsoft officials now believe that Surfaces aren't products that users will shell out to buy online without having at least some, quality hands-on time with them.?
Surface RT: It's about both demand and supply
The bigger and still unanswered questions are how many Surface RT devices Microsoft made and how many it has sold to date. In an internal town hall meeting at Microsoft last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer admitted to employees that Microsoft made too many Surfaces. (Duh.) But no Softie has said publicly how many Surface RTs were too many -- or how and why Microsoft over-ordered.
Simply taking the two known numbers -- the total write-down and the discount on each Surface RT -- to calculate the number of Surface RTs manufactured is overly simplistic, said Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry.
The $900 million write-down also included parts and accessories, Cherry noted. And many forget that Apple is the master of tying up critical elements of components the company needs in order to build an adequate supply of consumer electronics.
"When Microsoft decided to step into the world of building tablets I wondered how this differed from what they already built (mice, keyboards, and Xboxes)," said Cherry. "I assumed that a lot of money went into: a) buying parts; b) buying time in a plant; and c) building sub-components such as milling the metal chassis that they were going on about so much."
Because Microsoft was intent on keeping its Surface RT plans secret, Cherry said he assumed a lot of the company's component/part purchasing was done at the last minute, and therefore, "had to cost a lot." In some cases, Surface parts might have been shipped by air rather than container ship, for example, in order to meet last-minute deadlines.
"They also likely had to pay a lot to hold capacity open in case it really took off, which now, there may not be a need for," Cherry added.
We also know that Microsoft is working on what officials called at the company's Worldwide Partner Conference "updates" to the Surface RT and the Surface Pro -- both of which are due to launch some time during Microsoft's fiscal 2014 (which runs from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014). Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner publicly stated these dates and the existence of these updates during his keynote remarks in Houston.
If Microsoft is planning to use any of the same components and parts in its second-generation Surface RT and Surface Pro devices as it does in its generation one models, the $900 million write-down also may include depreciation on those parts.
Once Microsoft goes public with specifics about the next Surface RT and Surface Pro devices, further/new discounts on the current models also will be likely. I'd think Microsoft officials would have figured any future discounts into this $900 million figure, rather than have to do another write-down during a future quarter.
Microsoft officials aren't saying anything more about Surface RT's past or futures. They are insisting that positioning the Surface RT more clearly as an iPad competitor, but one that's more focused as a productivity tablet, will help it gain market momentum. ?
Google?s Chromecast media-streaming device is just a few days old, so developers are just beginning to figure out what the device is capable of. In the next few weeks, it?s likely that curious hackers are going to begin doing things that not even Google imagined was capable.
Google didn?t say anything about games when it introduced the device and instead focused on Chromecast?s video-playing features, but that didn?t prevent?Reddit user Brraaains?from immediately getting a Game Boy emulator running on his Chromecast.
Brraains posted a video of him playing a Game Boy game on his TV using the tiny Google media dongle. It?s just a proof of concept, but it works and opens up the possibility of other gaming-related functionality through the tiny HDMI stick.
The developer hosted a basic Game Boy emulator on a website and booted it up using his Chromecast extension for his PC?s Chrome browser. The code automatically began streaming to his television. He released the code on Github along with instructions on how to get the Game Boy emulator running on Chromecast.
It?s hard to see in the video ? especially with the cat in the way ? but the frame rate apparently dips in spots, but the developer claims he didn?t notice any lag between when he pushed the button and when he saw the corresponding action on the screen.
?From what I remember ? it was 2 a.m. ? it?s pretty instantaneous,? Brraaains wrote in a Reddit post. ?I?was surprised by how well it performed.?
This experiment also proves that it is a misnomer to call the Chromecast a ?streaming device? because it is capable of running code natively.
?The emulator is running on the Chromecast,? the developer wrote. ?The Chromecast executes the Javascript and HTML required to run the emulator. The client running on the PC just tells the emulator running on the Chromecast what to do. Go right, press A, or press B.?
It?s unlikely that anyone would want to play Game Boy games like this, but it just shows what is possible. A Chromecast only costs $35, so tons of developers are gonna have them and want to see what they are capable of. It?s interesting to see what is possible after only a few days.
WASHINGTON ? A woman was arrested Monday after green paint was found splattered inside two chapels at the Washington National Cathedral, and police were investigating her in connection with two similar incidents on the National Mall, authorities said.
The woman was arrested inside the cathedral shortly after the paint was found, police and cathedral officials said. Investigators were hoping to question her about the vandalism on the Mall, including at the Lincoln Memorial, but a language barrier delayed the interrogation, Assistant D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said.
The woman would likely be charged with destruction of property, Newsham said.
Green paint was found early Friday morning on the Lincoln Memorial, and symbols were found painted in green later Friday on another statue on the Mall. The Lincoln Memorial was closed temporarily but reopened later Friday.
Officials at the cathedral discovered the paint inside two chapels Monday afternoon. It was still wet, which led them to believe the vandalism had just occurred. Officials called police immediately and closed the cathedral to visitors while authorities searched the grounds.
The paint was splashed onto an organ and on the floor inside the cathedral's historic Bethlehem Chapel on the basement level, officials said. It was also found inside Children's Chapel in the nave of the cathedral.
Also Monday, U.S. Park Police said green paint was found on the statue of Joseph Henry outside the headquarters of the Smithsonian Institution on the Mall. Henry was the Smithsonian's first secretary.
Meanwhile, crews continued working Monday to remove the paint from the Lincoln Memorial. The National Park Service said progressively stronger substances would be used until all the paint is gone, which could take several days. The memorial was scheduled to be power washed Tuesday.
Sgt. Paul Brooks, a U.S. Park Police spokesman, said it was too early to tell whether the same person was responsible for the vandalism at the two Mall landmarks. He noted that while the paint appeared to be splattered indiscriminately on the memorial, the statue appeared to have been deliberately painted. The symbols on the statue were not immediately decipherable.
D.C. police said paint from the cathedral would likely be sent to the FBI for testing.
Cleanup and restoration work at the cathedral was expected to cost $15,000, cathedral spokesman Richard Weinberg said. Crews were there late Monday, and events at the cathedral were going on as scheduled. Some of the paint was splattered onto the decorative wall behind the altar in the Children's Chapel, which has ornate wood carvings that required some restoration, Weinberg said.
At least nine persons were killed in rain-related incidents in North and Central India while Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana reeled under humid conditions.
Six people, including four women, were killed last night when a house collapsed in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh.
Another three persons were killed in UP.
Hot and humid weather persisted in the national capital as the mercury remained two degrees above the normal level.
The day temperature settled at 36.0 degree Celsius which was two notches above normal, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 27.0 deg C, normal for this part of the year.
The humidity level oscillated between 56 and 95 per cent.
In UP, three persons, including two children, were killed in rain-related incidents during the last 24 hours.
Two children were killed and as many injured when a wall collapsed due to heavy rainfall in Hardoi district, official sources said here.
Nine killed in rain-related incidents; North India bears humid weather:
According to the report from Relief Commissioner Office, one person was killed in Barabanki district.
Major rivers in the state continued to pose threat in several areas.
Ganga, Sharda, Ghaghra and Rapti rivers continued to flow above the danger mark at some places, according to Central Water Commission.
The Ganga river continued to flow close to the danger mark from Fatehgarh to Dalmau in Rae Bareli and was flowing above the red mark at Ballia.
In Punjab and Haryana, maximum temperatures hovered a few notches above normal today with high humidity levels prevailing across the two states.
Chandigarh recorded a high of 35.2 deg C, two notches above normal, according to the Meteorological department.
Hisar was the hottest place in the region recording a high of 37.5 deg C, one degree above normal.
In Rajasthan, the sole hilly tracts of Mount Abu got 6.6 cms of rainfall today.
Ajmer recorded 3.4 cm rains, Barmer 2.4 cm, Jodhpur 2 cm, Kota 1.6 cm.
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Jen Bulik, a 35-year-old who recently was diagnosed with terminal cancer, got the wedding of her dreams over the weekend ? thanks in large part to the generosity of strangers.
More than 40 local vendors donated their services for the ceremony, which took place Saturday in San Jose, Calif.
Bulik and Jeff Lang, her boyfriend of six years, were married in a park near her parents' home. Surrounded by friends, family and a New Orleans brass band, the newlyweds led a parade to the reception, where 125 guests ate barbecue, played cornhole and watched the couple dance to an acoustic version of Lady Gaga's "Edge of Glory."
"I avoided tearing up the entire day until I saw them dancing," Erica Ota, a Bay area wedding planner who donated her services for the event, told Yahoo News.
Bulik wore a light green dress for the exchange of vows and had several wigs on hand.
"Jen changed her outfits and wigs about four times during the event," James LeDeau, a friend of the couple, said. "A true trendsetter, she always kept us guessing."
Kristen Chappelle, another wedding guest, added: "I can't picture Jeff without Jen, and I can't picture Jen without Jeff. They are one."
Bulik was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in December. Despite aggressive treatment, the cancer spread to her lymph nodes, and doctors told her in June she has less than six months to live. Lang proposed earlier this month.
Ota launched an online "wedding wish" fund to cover additional wedding-related expenses, including Bulik's planned Hawaiian honeymoon. So far, they've raised more $47,000.
Watch a video wedding guests made for the couple during the ceremony below:
